Isn’t it amazing what you can hear when the power goes out? I was sitting outside tonight when everything went black. The air conditioners were no longer buzzing, the TVs turn off and everyone came together in the darkness, wondering what happened.

The only sounds you could hear were the chirping crickets outside and a whimper from my toddler.

My husband and I turned on our flashlights on our phones and searched for the candles we purchased for just such an occurrence. Of course, the votives were no where to be seen. We had to settle for three candles that hadn’t been thought of in at least three years and a few old flashlights. My toddler got her own flashlight due to her fear of the dark.

“I want to go to bed,” she said for the first time ever.

Amazing the things you can hear when the power goes out!

We all climbed into bed safely with our flashlights, having blown out the candles and locked the doors. And, as we laid down to the sound of nothing but the song of the night on the wind, I couldn’t help but think, “Isn’t this beautiful?”

A special song of nocturnal bliss that plays every night — we just can’t hear it over the sounds of our gadgets and gizmos. A beautiful melody the Lord created just for this moment to lull us to sleep.

There was another person who heard something miraculous in the darkness of night. He grew to be the last judge of Israel as well as a prophet. In 1 Samuel 3:1-10, Samuel hears a call in the darkness and believes it is his master, Eli. He goes to Eli three times before it dawns on Eli that Samuel is being called by God.

“Therefore Eli said to Samuel, “Go, lie down, and if he calls you, you shall say, ‘Speak, LORD, for your servant hears.'” So Samuel went and lay down in his place,” it reads in 1 Samuel 3:9.

So, Samuel goes to lays down and listens. When the Lord calls him, he says, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.” The Lord then reveals his word to Samuel, and continues to do so all across Samuel’s life — just because Samuel was willing to listen in the darkness of night.

If COVID has taught us anything — it is that there is often too much in our lives which is not actually necessary. Too many distractions, noises, stresses and messages that are not actually needed. Maybe we need a little black out to remind us to listen for those important moments we might have missed otherwise. Maybe we need to be willing to sit in the darkness and cry out, “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears.”

What have we missed, dear readers, that we might have heard from the Lord only because we were distracted?

I will leave you with one final thought. I grew up in a church called Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, and when I say I grew up there, I really mean it. I went there after school each day because my mom was the church secretary. We also attended their service each week. Having been a Baptist previously, the liturgy and hymns were a bit different, but I grew to love them with all my heart.

One in particular sticks out to me in this moment, so much so that I can hear my mother singing it in my mind.

“Here I am, Lord, Is it I Lord?

I have heard you calling in the night.

I will go, Lord, if you lead me —

I will hold your people in my heart.”

— “Here I Am, Lord,” by Dan Schutte

Friends, I pray this week that if the Lord calls upon us, whether day or night, we answer that call and listen with all our might. Maybe in those hours of solitude and rest, we will all be amazed at what we hear.